Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Reporters' Notebooks

Fred Girard, Detroit News: Two Michigan State players were arraigned on assault charges and another is to be charged after a weekend fight. Coach John L. Smith received reassurances from above that he is under no pressure — for the moment.

Norm Frauenheim, Arizona Republic: USC might be No. 2 in the BCS standings, but Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter says the Trojans are only the third-best team in the Pacific 10.

1 comment:

dawizofodds
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10-17-06

The Hlist

Mike HlasCedar Rapids Gazette

FIRST DOWNS 1. On Wisconsin: Wisconsin has outscored its last three Big Ten foes by a total of 141-38. It improved to 6-1 after mauling Minnesota, 48-12. ‘‘Everything is clicking,’’ Wisconsin guard Andy Kemp said. ‘‘We don’t let the hammer up. We keep the gas pedal down.’’ ‘‘We’re going to be in an attack mode as much as we can,’’ said Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema. Two weeks earlier, the Badgers won at Indiana, 52-17. Just saying.

2. Open on Prairie: Oklahoma State’s Adarius Bowman set a Big 12 record with 300 yards receiving in the Cowboys’ 42-32 win at Kansas. Bowman had 13 catches, four for touchdowns. ‘‘It’s like a dream come true,’’ he said. ‘‘Every time I caught the ball and looked up and saw the receivers down field blocking, it gave me some extra juice.’’ ‘‘He made plays, and we could barely contest him,’’ said Kansas Coach Mark Mangino. ‘‘He gets my vote for the Heisman.’’

3. Dandy Vandy: Vanderbilt got its first win against a ranked opponent away from Nashville since the 1955 Gator Bowl when Bryant Hannfeldt made a 33-yard field goal with two seconds left for a 24-22 win at Georgia. It was only the Commodores’ fourth win over the Bulldogs in their last 43 meetings. Vandy (3-4) hasn’t had a winning season since 1982. ‘‘Anytime you do something like this, it makes a statement whether you want to or not,’’ Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson said. ‘‘I’m not going to downplay it,’’ said Vandy Coach Bobby Johnson. ‘‘It’s big.’’

4. Sam’s Club: It turns out that Hilary Swank (‘‘Million Dollar Baby’’) isn’t the only Swank who packs a punch. Sam Swank became the fifth player in NCAA history to kick three field goals of 50 plus yards in a game in helping Wake Forest past North Carolina State, 25-23. He also hit a 54-yard punt near the game’s end. ‘‘Any time Swank has to kick, it’s like, get a sip of water,’’ said Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. ‘‘I mean, 53-yarders are chip shots for Swank. When the offense gets over the 50, I tell myself that’s three points.’’ ‘‘I am living my dream right now, right here,’’ Swank said.

FUMBLES 1. Miami Vice: Florida International plays at Iowa in 2008. Maybe the punk-and-jerk element of its team will be gone by then. During Miami’s 35-0 win over FIU at the Orange Bowl, a little brawl broke out. It was one of the sicker things seen at a college game in ages, actually, enough to get 18 Golden Panthers and 13 Hurricanes suspended for a game. ‘‘I can promise you that this will never happen again,’’ said FIU Coach Don Strock. So rest easy, Iowa City. And rest easy . . . Miami? ‘‘We’ve got a strong grip on this program,’’ Hurricanes Coach Larry Coker said. The Hlist thinks he needs a stronger grip on reality.

2. Mouthful of Madness: Former University of Miami and NFL player Lamar Thomas is facing disciplinary action from Comcast Sports Southeast after his comments during the pay-per-view telecast of the FIU-Miami game. As the brawl unfolded, color commentator Thomas hollered ‘‘Now, that’s what I’m talking about. You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked. You don’t come into the OB playing that stuff. You’re across the ocean over there. You’re across the city. You can’t come over to our place talking noise like that. You’ll get your butt beat. I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing. ‘‘I say, why don’t they just meet outside in the tunnel after the ball game and get it on some more? You don’t come into the OB, baby. We’ve had a down couple years but you don’t come in here talking smack. Not in our house.’’ Thomas, as Deadspin.com notes, has quite a past. He was arrested and jailed for aggravated battery for attacking his pregnant fiancee with a deadly weapon, detained for brandishing a gun and threatening suicide, and arrested for violating probation. See, Thomas backs his crazy talk with crazy action.

3. Rolling Backward: Illinois won at Michigan State on Sept. 30. That may be the extent of the Illini’s 2006 highlight reel. Illinois lost at home to Ohio on Saturday, 20-17. That was the week after a 34-32 home loss to Indiana. ‘‘After Michigan State, with Indiana and Ohio coming up, we were thinking we were rolling,’’ said Illini receiver Frank Lenti Jr. They thought wrong.

4. Wolfe Trapped: Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe had just 25 yards on 18 carries in the Huskies’ 16-14 loss at Western Michigan. So much for that dark horse Heisman Trophy campaign. Wolfe had been averaging 223.8 rushing yards per game, easily the best in Division I-A. He’s still tops despite getting held under 150 yards for the first time in 12 games. ‘‘They just executed better than anyone we’ve played,’’ Wolfe said. ‘‘I pride myself on being a playmaker, and I didn’t make any plays.’’

FROM THE PAPERS ‘‘The biggest shock about that melee at the Orange Bowl on Saturday night was that it took until the middle of the third quarter to get going. I would have thought the over/under might have been the pregame coin flip, and even that was assuming mutual restraint. Maybe we should be thankful the team buses didn’t start racing en route to the stadium, trading paint and road-raging through traffic in a hail of bullets.’’ — Greg Cote, Miami Herald

FINAL WORD ‘‘They’re happy right now, and I want them to be happy. But they need to get back to work. I’d degrade the Buffalo tradition if I was going to do back flips over 1-6.’’ — Colorado Coach Dan Hawkins, after the Buffaloes beat Texas Tech, 30-6, to end a 10-game losing streak.